Prized llama killed by mountain lion

A llama who was the hit of a recent Tri-Lakes parade and award-winner for its skills as a pack animal was killed by a mountain lion this week in northwest El Paso County.

Lighthawk, 17, was found partially eaten under some scrub oak on Gregg Romens' Wildflower Ridge Ranch, about a mile and half north of the Air Force Academy on the edge of Pike National Forest. Division of Wildlife Officer Steve Cooley confirmed a lion killed the llama, based on claw marks, how the llama died, and where the carcass was found. Mountain lions hide their prey and bury it with leaves, dirt and grass.

The llama was one of seven owned by Romens, who rents them out for pack trips. Lighthawk was his first, he said, and the most experienced of the group. The most mellow of his herd, Lighthawk would showcase his skills in performance competitions and won several ribbons. He was a patient celebrity at the Monument Fourth of July parade as children petted his woolly brown and tan coat.

Romens and his family were driving back from a vacation in Wisconsin when his neighbors, who were looking after his animals, asked him if he had rented one of them out. They counted only six. When he said no, they did another search and found Lighthawk.

On Tuesday, the llamas had gotten out of a pen, he said, and the latch to the gate was torn off and found several feet away. He thinks they were running scared at the time.

The llama rancher has since learned from neighbors that lions are no strangers to the neighborhood. One neighbor reported a lion on her deck a few years ago. Another said a lion one time was perched atop his horse barn.

"They are in prime lion habitat out there," Cooley said, about the homes at the far west end of Baptist Road.

Colorado law allows ranchers to kill lions when they are threatening livestock. Romens, fearful for his six remaining llamas, is ready if it comes down to that. He's cut his animals off from a pasture where scrub oaks could make for an easy ambush, and he now keeps his rifle and spotlights in his bedroom should they sound panicked.

"You can live by the live and let live motto, but when the wildlife doesn't hold up to its end of the bargain..."

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CONTACT THE WRITER: 636-0198 or brian.newsome@gazette.com